APY Lands Carbon Farming Project

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:05): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Primary Industries a question about a carbon farming project on the APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: On 13 July 2023, the APY lands executive board agreed to enter into a partnership with the state government to progress a carbon project on the APY lands. In September last year, community consultation commenced on the lands and in December last year the government formed a steering committee to assist the board, which included representatives from PIRSA, the Department for Environment and Water, the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and the Department of Treasury and Finance.

According to documents I have seen, a business case has already been completed for the project, which indicates $14 million in startup costs are needed initially, with the APY lands expected to start receiving income from the project three years after startup. The documents explained that carbon farming is a business that fixes damaged country by growing trees and shrubs, and the board will receive payment for doing so over a 25-year period. It has been put to me that the project could be worth up to $400 million to the APY lands board and the First Nations people it represents.

The project also needs the approval of the commonwealth government, which will implement an integrated farm and land management method that enables crediting of carbon stored from managed regeneration and plantings of native forest and improvements to the soil. My questions to the minister are:

1. What is the current status of the project?

2. Can the minister provide more detailed information about the project and how it will operate and how money is being generated?

3. Have any formal contracts been signed between the government and the APY lands executive board for the project?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for his question. I am advised that in 2021, at the completion of the North West Indigenous Pastoral Project, PIRSA worked with APY management and RegenCo, a private carbon farming project company, to develop a cattle, carbon and conservation business plan. The plan proposed that resting the existing grazing areas in the APY lands to allow for regrowth will provide carbon sequestration, generating a carbon income stream to fund development of new, sustainably managed grazing areas set aside for this purpose.

The plan also identified a significant area, just over 873,000 hectares, of non-forested land with the potential for forest condition recovery within 15 years. Under the then Human Induced Regeneration methodology (HIR), rehabilitation of this land would provide over 11 million ACCUs (Australian Carbon Credit Units). The ACCU spot price at the time meant a $300 million project may be possible over a 25-year period.

Following the finalisation of the plan, PIRSA worked with APY management to get community agreement to establish a carbon farming project. In September 2023, according to my advice, the HIR was sunsetted by the commonwealth government without, to date, a replacement methodology. Unfortunately, at that time sufficient consultation had not been undertaken for the APY to sign a non-binding agreement with a proponent to progress the carbon farming project.

A new method, titled Integrated Farm and Land Management (IFLM—a replacement for HIR) is, according to my advice, currently under development by the commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and will be critically important in supporting carbon farming project development on the APY lands. PIRSA is continuing to work with the APY to develop a carbon farming project when a replacement method is available.